Aeroflot-Russian Airlines has conducted a training series, designed to prevent avian flu from contaminating the Sheremetyevo airport.

The training had the purpose of checking the skills of the cabin crew of an Aeroflot flight, in case they find a passenger with the dangerous symptoms on board; as well as to optimize coordination between the Crisis Management Center of Aeroflot, the cabin crew and the State Sanitary and Epidemic Surveillance authorities.

Conducted during a real flight, the training was spontaneous, as the crew had not been notified. A specialist from the Sanitary-Epidemiological department at the Aeroflot Medical Center on board simulated symptoms of bird flu. The training results showed that the crew members, staff from the On-land Flight Support Complex, the Crisis Management Center and the Flight Supervision Center of the company acted promptly and in strict compliance with the established procedures, isolating the assumedly ill person, while effectively cooperating with the relevant airport and sanitary services.

The training confirmed the effectiveness of the Aeroflot's "Plan of the primary anti-epidemiological measures".

According to earlier reports, Aeroflot conducts daily monitoring of the epidemiological situation in Turkey, maintaining continuous communication with its representatives in Antalya and Istanbul, while the carrier's experts are adding final provisions to the plan designed to prevent the virus propagation via air transport. All cabin staff undergo a medical examination before every flight to reveal symptoms of avian flu. In addition, crews are instructed about the measures they have to take to isolate an ill passenger from other passengers, as soon as they detect an infected person on board.